Oil futures settled higher on Monday as Libya’s largest oil field was obstructed and concerns remains over global discord impacting crude oil supplies, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
May West Texas Intermediate crude added 84 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $53.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
June Brent crude, the global benchmark, tacked on 74 cents, or 1.3%, to end trading at $55.98 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Exchange.
Reuters reported Libya’s Sharara oil field was shuttered on Sunday after an unknown faction blocked a pipeline following a recent shutdown.
Despite global tensions following the U.S. missile strike against Syria, “the longer-term outlook for oil continues to favor the bears as U.S. oil output continues to climb much faster than expected, which is both offsetting efforts by global producers who cut production in January as well as damaging OPEC member sentiment as they once again forfeit market share to U.S. shale producers,” said Tyler Richey, co-editor of the Sevens Report.
Meanwhile, May natural gas settled at $3.238 per million British thermal units, down 2.3 cents, or 0.7%, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.